A local Doctor Who group has claimed that Cardiff is not the home of their favourite programme - and say that the honour now belongs to the valleys.

John Campbell Rees, from Treherbert, the organiser of the group named 'Timeless' which meets at the Tumble Inn in Pontypridd on the third Thursday of each month, says that a lot of filming has been done in the Rhondda Cynon Taff area for the third series of the programme which starts on BBC1 on Saturday, March 31.

'The first episode was actually filmed at the University of Glamorgan,' said John.

'The story revolves around the Doctor's new assistant Martha Jones, who is a medical student, and those scenes were filmed in the medical studies block of the university in Glyntaff.'

The promotional photographs for the new series were taken in the car park of the Glyntaff campus of the University - and former student nurse Melanie Hill, from Fleur-de-Lys, another member of Timeless, had to do a double-take when she saw them.

'I knew that something looked familiar in the background of the photos,' said Melanie, who graduated from the University before Christmas.

'I had to wrack my brains to work out where it was, and then I realised that it was Treforest and that those photos were taken in the car park where I was doing my degree.'

Treforest is not the only location that has been used for the new series.

The inside shots of the Tardis have also been moved out of Cardiff and into a state-of-the-art set of studios in Nantgarw, while one episode was filmed inside the Parc and Dare Theatre in Treorchy last November.

The Parc and Dare was chosen because its art deco auditorium was exactly what the production team was looking for.

The next meeting of Timeless, the Welsh valleys' only Doctor Who fan club, will take place in the Tumble Inn on Thursday, March 15, from 7.30 pm.

'There's nothing formal about our meetings,' adds Jon.

'We're not like Star Trek fans, we don't dress up in costumes and there's nothing strange about us.

'We're simply a bunch of individuals who like to meet up, have a beer and a curry and talk about the show.

'Everyone is welcome to join us.

'We normally sit in the non-smoking section at the back of the pub.'

The Daleks will make an appearance in the fourth and fifth episodes of the new series in a two-part story set in 1930s New York, while Life on Mars' John Simm will continue his time-travelling exploits in the final episode when he stars as the Doctor's nemesis, The Master.

For more information or to contact the Timeless group, go to www.timeless.org.uk.